Melaka Fray
Melaka Fray is a Slayer, activated in the 23rd century. She lives in a dystopian future, where her harsh, poverty-stricken upbringing has hardened her into a capable fighter. Upon learning of her destiny as the Slayer, Melaka must battle the freaks known as lurks to save her community and the world. Appearing only in comic books, Melaka features in her own mini-series Fray and Tales of the Slayers. Biography Early life Born in the 23rd century, Melaka Fray grew up in Versi, a ghetto-like district in the city of Haddyn, with her older sister Erin and slighter older twin brother Harth. As a teenager, she discovered that she possessed enhanced physical abilities but decided not to question it, rationalising that she was simply "good at stuff". Due to her family's poverty and low social status, Melaka was forced to go "grabbing" for food, behaviour which earned her the disaproval of her sister. At the age of fourteen, she took Harth with her on a grab, and the twins were attacked by a lurk called Icarus. Melaka tried to fight Icarus off, only to be thrown off the building's rooftop while the lurk fed on Harth, killing him. Melaka inexplicably survived her fall, despite early indications of spinal injury, only to be blamed by Erin for Harth's death. The two sisters parted ways, with Erin joining up with "the law" while Melaka continued her life of crime. Calling By the age of nineteen, Melaka is a professional thief often hired by a "radie" named Gunther to steal expensive artifacts. She often looks after a local Versi girl named Loo, whose parents can often not afford to pay for the girl's medication. Melaka is approached by a demon named Urkonn who tells her that the freaks known as lurks are in fact ancient demons known as "vampires" and that she is destined to fight them. At first, Mel is reluctant to accept or even believe that she is really "the Slayer", espcially as she has never experienced any of the dreams that Urkonn describes. However, after coming across a lurk while on a job for Gunther and being reminded of Harth's death, she agrees to train with Urkonn. While fighting, Melaka comes face to face with Icarus and is horrified by the sight of her brother's killer, forcing Urkonn to jump to her defence. After recovering, she decides to use Gunther to track down Icarus, but learns that he has betrayed her to the law. As Erin takes her sister away, they are attacked by a group of lurks, who kidnap Melaka and take her to their master: Harth. Harth reveals to his sister that, as her twin, he had received her Slayer dreams and was aware of vampire lore. When he was bitten by Icarus, he knew that the only way to survive was to ingest their blood, thus becoming one of them. Due to his dreams, Harth had become leader to the lurks and was determined to bring back the Old Ones. After the shock of meeting her supposedly dead brother, Melaka escapes and informs Erin of what has happened. Erin refuses to believe her, and Melaka returns home and rejoins Urkonn, where she discovers Loo's lifeless body in her appartment. This motivates her to wage war on the lurks as revenge for what they have done to her loved ones. Melaka returns Loo's body to her parents, and is granted an ancient Slayer weapon to aid her in the upcoming battle. Her attempts to unite the community of Veris against the lurks are initially ignored, but when she begins hunting the lurks herself, she shows her neighbours what a true threat they are. This attracts the attention of Icarus, but before the two can truly face off, Erin appears and crashes her flying car on top of him as revenge for murdering her brother. Melaka leads a small group of people, including members of the law, against an army of lurks, while Harth attempts to unleash the Old Ones on Earth. She succeeds in defeating Harth's giant demon, but her brother escapes, claiming that things are not over between them. Afterwards, Melaka confronts Urkonn, telling that she has figured out he was the one who murdered Loo. Urkonn claims that he needed to do whatever he could to motivate her against the lurks, and Melaka murders him, doing it quickly because she considers Urkonn a "friend". She returns to her old job as a thief, but continues fighting lurks and preparing for anthing else which may come her way. Powers and abilties Melaka is a Slayer and posesses the physical powers of one, which includes superhuman strength, speed, agility, reflexes, durability, and accelerated healing. Notably, she does not possess the usual psychic powers of Slayers such as prophetic dreams, as these abilties instead went to her brother Harth. Melaka is also an accomplished thief. Her usual weapons include a blaster pistol and the mystical Slayer scythe. Appearances * Fray * Tales of the Vampires * Dark Horse Twenty Years 25 Cent Issue Fray Fray